It’s becoming increasingly difficult for us ethically conscious hoomans to be sure of the impact the products we buy and use day-to-day, have on this lovely earth. That’s because high-end brand owners and distributors make the effort to avert the public eye from their devious and frankly, cruel ways.
One of the many, and in my opinion, most devious examples of this is The Body Shop. The Body shop originated out in a small shop in Brighton with the promise of providing cruelty-free, ethically sourced, natural products (Hurrah!). Which at the time (1976) was unheard of.
HOWEVER as many know the company was bought from Anita in 2007 when L’Oreal decided they were severely threatened by the company’s potential competition. Meaning that, going forward, any money earned from The Body Shop was likely to be churning in the same pot, that was funding the budget for L’Oreal’s sacred bunny torturing.
It’s unclear how many of The Body Shop’s ethical values, L’Oreal abolished, but we do know this. Since the sale in 2007 there was a significant reduction in the company’s profits and so since then, L’Oreal have attempted to redeem TBS by beginning campaigns such as “Enrich not Exploit”. This aims to brainwash customers in to thinking that what they’re buying is still as earth and animal conscious as it once was, before the sale. Throwing in the odd promise for a tree plantation and ‘sustainable packaging’ remark.
If you ask me, the best bet is to find an independent store like TBS used to be, that is not profit driven, and support that, rather than this huge pile of Horse shit.
References:
Image reference:
http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/bshop_faq.html